East Semi Final Thread: Ottawa Redblacks @ Toronto Argonauts

[AngeloV]

Solid game; did not drop any and fought for extra yardage.

Veteran Tommy Nield had 5 catches for 64 yards in the last game of the season, and has 63 receptions in his Argo career; but I could see why they would want to sit him for a raw rookie.

Nield struggled at times this year. Had difficulty making contested catches and his fumble last week didn’t help his chances. Bottom line, Nield does not play short side WR. The only way he gets in yesterday is if they move Daniels to X and play Nield at #2 slot. Clearly they made the right decision.

Brissett - a natural WR (played there in US college ball), and the fastest Argo receiver, could have easily played either side WR; and Nield would have been an extra slotback who played some in the receiver rotation. A raw rookie gets in because they see something in him obviously; and obviously as well the coaches are inscrutable experts who are always right.

It's silly, I realize, to ever question any roster moves the team you like and follow would ever make. It was very wrong of me to ask, earlier this season, why a veteran, fast, play-making defender like Tunde Adeleke was not getting any playing time on defence. Or to ask why Oakman was let go; or McFadden; or young Canadian DT talent like Dionte Knight or Justin Sambu.

Maybe for the East Final, the Argos could air-lift in a new American RB (an NFL cut with an impressive resume) and dress him over Adeboboye, for better RB depth for the big game ?

Get over it already. They scored 44 offensive points. Their best offensive showing of the year. The right decisions were made. Why do you always have to complain?

[AngeloV]

Dru Brown was good, but we need to slow down on his all out praise. You throw the ball 61 times, you should get over 450 yards. His yards per attempt was only 7.8 which is pretty average.

All true, but he was razor-sharp nonetheless. Many of his passes were to the precise spot needed for the throw to be completed. He has a bright future in this league.

I wouldn’t say razor sharp. He was not very good in the red zone, and threw 2 picks. They were still in the game on his first pick should they have scored on that drive, and was lucky not to throw a pick in the 2nd quarter, when Amos knocked the ball away from Metchie in the end zone on a terrible throw following a turnover which gave them great field position. He was good, but razor sharp is quite the leap.

[AngeloV]

Chad Kelly attempted 20 passes (behind a highly rated Argo O-line) and was sacked 3 times (including taking a couple of big hits).

One of those sacks looked to be a clear miscommunication on the right side between Allen and Vandal. Those things are gonna happen, especially with a rookie who has barely played half a season as a starter. But other than the three sacks, Kelly had time to find the open man (and did so, repeatedly).

Watching the game again, it was Allen that made the mistake. He needed to let Carey take the outside guy there. Mauldin was the more dangerous guy and he simply chose the wrong guy to block. Carey already went out to block the outside guy.

[OV Argo]

Dru Brown was good, but we need to slow down on his all out praise. You throw the ball 61 times, you should get over 450 yards. His yards per attempt was only 7.8 which is pretty average.

All true, but he was razor-sharp nonetheless. Many of his passes were to the precise spot needed for the throw to be completed. He has a bright future in this league.

Yeah, Brown was mostly impressive this season; a poised and accurate young passer - within Condell's limited offence; but Brown offers next to no mobility or run threat (or else is told not to run, or has no confidence there). He might lead Ottawa to a bright future, but I'm not overly convinced yet, plus they need some real coaching help / changes there IMO.

Gotta give the RedBlacks/Condell offence some (or plenty of) kudos for putting up 38 points against the Argo D (and with only one turn-over - Kelly smoked & fumbled - , and little help from their dangerous returners). It was a spread offence with no real RB (though both Addison & Dedmon got some carries) and often morphed into a 6 pack look - shades of the 91 GC where the Stamps went 6 pack basically the whole 1st half against the Argo D. And they have some very good vet receivers in Hardy, Acklin, Addison who are sure-handed and that rookie Pimpleton is dangerous - gets open and a real YAC threat (dropped too many this season, but if he can fix that, he could be a real star in this league IMO). So Brown had lots of good targets and his revamped O-line gave him good to decent time mostly. Almost 500 passing yards and a huge time of possession advantage. But the Argo D's lack of adjustments was very disappointing & annoying IMO. Ottawa coulda won this game; except Kelly was superb and the Argos O feasted on the weak & dumb RedBlacks defence.

[IssuesMcgee]

Say what you will about the Argos D but they sealed the game when they needed to with the Wynton McManis interception. The man is a legend. I was worried they would give Ottawa every chance to get back into the game like they have all season long.

It was good to see Daniels have a huge performance after a few people kind of called him out in the days leading up to the game.

I am really impressed with Jake Herslow. The intensity he plays with is very entertaining.

Chad Kelly is a monster right now.

[GreyCup1971]

Say what you will about the Argos D but they sealed the game when they needed to with the Wynton McManis interception. The man is a legend. I was worried they would give Ottawa every chance to get back into the game like they have all season long.

It was good to see Daniels have a huge performance after a few people kind of called him out in the days leading up to the game.

I am really impressed with Jake Herslow. The intensity he plays with is very entertaining.

Chad Kelly is a monster right now.

I don't know who was chasing Brown, but he rushed the ball and Wynton grabbed it. D-line got stronger as the game went on. The Command Center looked clownish after reversing the on-field call. If the refs couldn't peel back the pile and make the call, how on earth could they do that.

And the second pic-6 happened in a heart blink of an eye. Wow.

[shatto]

It was a very entertaining game. Great advertisement for next season
.Kelly was outstanding. That was a MOP performance.
.If he stays healthy, Polk is a super star in the making
.Mital is showing more and more of his potential. Still like to see him play at 220 rather than 229
.D line was not very good for most of the game. They must play better if they hope to beat Montreal
'Franklin had a rough start to the season but has steadily improved.
.I had my doubts about Herslow but he is rewarding the confidence the coaches have shown in him
.The Ottawa use of a spread 6 man receiving corps seemed to give the Argos trouble but by the end of the game it appeared the D had made the required changes.

[gilthethrill]

Say what you will about the Argos D but they sealed the game when they needed to with the Wynton McManis interception. The man is a legend. I was worried they would give Ottawa every chance to get back into the game like they have all season long.

It was good to see Daniels have a huge performance after a few people kind of called him out in the days leading up to the game.

I am really impressed with Jake Herslow. The intensity he plays with is very entertaining.

Chad Kelly is a monster right now.

I don't know who was chasing Brown, but he rushed the ball and Wynton grabbed it. D-line got stronger as the game went on. The Command Center looked clownish after reversing the on-field call. If the refs couldn't peel back the pile and make the call, how on earth could they do that.

And the second pic-6 happened in a heart blink of an eye. Wow.

It was Robbie Smith that rushed Brown on his first INT.

[gilthethrill]

Dru Brown was good, but we need to slow down on his all out praise. You throw the ball 61 times, you should get over 450 yards. His yards per attempt was only 7.8 which is pretty average.

All true, but he was razor-sharp nonetheless. Many of his passes were to the precise spot needed for the throw to be completed. He has a bright future in this league.

Chad Kelly with 2 incomplete passes the entire game....now THAT is Razor Sharp.

[ArgoGabe22]

.If he stays healthy, Polk is a super star in the making
.Mital is showing more and more of his potential. Still like to see him play at 220 rather than 229

If he can stay with the Argos IMO. Reminds me a bit of Posey. I want to see Mital go more vertical. Curious what he can do. Not sure how many snaps he took other than the ones he caught the ball going across.